The Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel
by CancerTheCrab
Summary: Barry Allen planned on going back in time to save his mother, but instead of running back in time he poked a hole in his dimension and ended up in some place called Hell's Kitchen. He' stuck there for a while, exhausted, confused, and scared. At least he gets to meet the Avengers. AU starts at the season 2 finale, so spoilers. Rated T for language. Starring Daredevil as Avenger.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Oh my gosh guys I am so excited to start this! I've already brainstormed like seven chapters and I'm so ready to write it out! I hope you like it, the story chapter length mayfluctuate, okay, so don't expect like a rigid 2,000-3,000 word count or something. I hope you have fun reading it because I sure did have fun writing it.

 **The Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel**

oO-Oo

Barry Allen is the fastest man alive and he feels like a pile of shit. Seriously, his entire body ached, from his toes to his ears. It ran bone-deep, pulling a groan from his reluctant lips. He had no recollection of where he was for a moment until he remembered that he'd gotten himself in some deep, deep trouble. As in, multi-dimensional trouble.

Yep. He'd poked a hole in space time again and ended up God knows where. This realization prompted his eyes snapping open in an attempt to figure out what dimension he'd popped into. The first thing he saw was raindrop shadows across an otherwise brightly lit ceiling. His eyes burned and his head throbbed spectacularly. He groaned again.

"Glad to see you're awake," a low, gravelly voice made his heart beat too fast for a heart monitor to pick up. He sat up sharply and regretted it instantly. The muscles he used to sit up burned horribly, making him fall back into the couch he was laying on.

"Oh fuck- Please don't kill me." Barry huffed; his arms coming up to feebly block an attack – which didn't come.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you." _That's what I believed about Jay and then he broke my back,_ Barry thought bitterly. He still wasn't over it. He wouldn't be over it in a long time. The memory of him lying on the ground in agony with fading sight and hearing his friends telling him to stay awake was burned into his brain. He would never, ever forget it. Anyway, Barry turned his head carefully and saw a man. The man had a good build, and was wearing only sweatpants. It almost made him blush to see the stranger half naked but the heat rising to his cheeks soon turned cold and he paled instead. The man had a large cut on his right shoulder and butterfly stitches on his eyebrow. He had bruises all over him, too. His eyes were unfocused and but were looking somewhere above Barry's head.

"I've heard that before," he muttered under his breath. And, maybe it was his imagination, but the man's face seemed to soften. Oh, yeah, and the man was incredibly gorgeous. He had a sort of…"wounded duck" sort of vibe though. This thought prompted another little freak out because he remembered Cisco, and then everyone else back home that loved him and would no doubt smack him if- _when_ he got back to his universe. "Who are you? Where am I? What's going on?" Barry dragged his hand down his face and then rubbed his temple roughly. The pounding of his brain was annoying and painful. He just wanted it to stop.

"Well, I'm Matt Murdock. You're in Hell's Kitchen, New York. Do you remember anything that happened?" Matt asked. Concern seeped into his voice and he tentatively leaned forward, placing his hand on Barry's shoulder. He flinched but settled back into the cushions and tried to make sense of the memories flashing through his brain (no pun intended).

"I-I'm Barry Allen. What's the date? And time?" He asked, the wheels in his head spinning.

"Ah- July 30th. Around midnight."

"No, no, the year?" Barry pressed. He tensed his muscles and tried to sit up again, and much to his satisfaction, he was able to this time. Matt's hand splayed against his shoulder blade to help him up.

"…2016. Why is this important?" Barry let out a huge sigh of relief. It was the same day that it had been in his universe, so he didn't have to be careful about not changing the entire timeline and messing things up. Well, unintentionally.

Barry had been about to go back in time to save his mother from Eobard Thawne. He had felt so, _so_ broken out on the patio with Iris. It had finally hit him that he was an orphan, that the two people that had brought him into the world were gone and dead. The cruel irony filled him with anger. Both of them had been killed in virtually the same spot, in the same house. The house he'd grown up in. Jay Garrick, a formerly close friend, had stabbed him in the back – almost literally. He _had_ been stabbed actually, in three different spots, and the claws had grazed his lungs. He could still remember how they'd pierced him skin, bright hot, unfathomable pain _tearing through him-_

"Barry? Are you okay?" Matt's voice drew him out of his dark thoughts. He shook his head to try and clear it.

"It's a long story," Barry said slowly. He tried to sort out exactly how to tell Matt his predicament.

The only reason he was even going to try and tell him was because Barry knew that Matthew Murdock is a vigilante called Daredevil by the residents of the city. Seconds after he'd punctured a hole in space time, he had skidded to a stop in the middle of a random roof in a very dark city. On a roof across from his, he'd seen a figure with little horns sticking out the top of its head move toward him quickly. Barry had tried to get away but his knees had buckled and his muscles completely gave out. He stayed conscious for several minutes after that, and had been able to get a close look at the masked face of the man that had picked him up as if he weighed as much as a kitten. He'd also heard the man talking, most likely into a comm., alerting other possibly dangerous people that "something really weird just happened". It had taken a very small amount of time to get to a roof where the man/possible metahuman had deposited him onto a couch, and that was when he'd seen the man take off his mask. The last thing Barry saw before he passed out was a very handsome and also bleeding face.

This guy trusted him with his secret identity, and Barry's cowl was already down, so there was no point in holding back. So he started to ramble on about particle accelerators, trusted mentors betraying him, time travel, and trying to save his dead mother and father. By the end of it, he needed a glass of water and definitely another nap.

"That's. Well. That's pretty…" Matt fumbled for words.

"Yeah. Um, sorry, that's a lot of information, huh? The problem is that-" Barry interrupted when he heard a door opening and tried to whip around to see who'd arrived but only succeeded in becoming incredibly nauseated. His head spun like a top and he fell back onto the couch on his side. "Crap," he said sharply, scrambling to try and sit up again.

"Barry, calm down, it's okay. My team is here- they won't hurt you. Relax," Matt said, standing up and switching his attention at what Barry assumed was a group of people. He complied and lay back down. Matt had indeed been talking to a group of people, a fairly large group at that. There were 12 people filing into the living room. Well, it was more like 11 people and one…humanoid…thing. And one guy had a metal arm, but none of those facts really fazed him after months of metahumans fucking around in Central City. He introduced them as Steve, Tony, Natasha, Bucky, Sam, Clint, Vision, Wanda, Scott, Peter, Bruce, and Rhodey. Vision was the weird…whatever and Bucky had the metal arm. They both also had a sort-of-dead look in their eyes, but Vision's eyes were blanker than they were dead. Wanda had a foreign accent and was very pretty, like the other lady, Natasha who he could feel a potential danger radiating off her. Peter was very young compared to the rest of them. "Now, what were you going to say, Barry?"

Barry's exhaustion was beginning to catch up to him. The edges of his vision darkened and his tongue felt numb in his mouth. "I was gonna say," he swallowed and struggled to stay awake, Matt's concerned face swimming in front of him, "that I'm not- not from this universe." And then he passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** The third scene happens directly after the last scene in the last chapter. _Italicized_ are flashbacks.

 **The Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel**

oO-Oo

 _The muted sounds of his friends, of his family, laughing and chatting made Barry feel like he should be happy. Like he_ has _to be happy or something is wrong with him. The suddenly too-hot (it was perfectly warm) air felt like it was suffocated him. He opened the door and slowly shut it, moving to the stairs on the patio. The cold wind pierced his clothes. He wasn't sure if this was any better._

 _The image of his dead father's doppelganger throbbed in his mind, sharp and jarring. It made him ache to his very soul. Iris joined him on the steps._

" _I can't stop thinking about my dad's doppelganger. Seeing him, knowing that he's out there, should've made it easier. It doesn't. It just made me miss him even more." Barry confessed quietly._

" _I can't even imagine how hard that must've been," Iris said, just as quiet._

 _Barry sat up a bit now. Anger and frustration settled in his gut. "We just won," he said, "We just beat Zoom. Why does it feel like I just lost?" Even when he was dead, Zoom got him one last time. It made his blood boil._

" _Because you've lost a lot in your life, Barry," Iris responded, "More than most. But now you're free – free to do anything you want." She smiled at him warmly. He smiled back at her, softly._

" _That sounds perfect," he said sincerely, "But I feel so hollowed out inside right now. I feel more broken than I've ever felt in my life," tears began to pool in his eyes, "If I'm ever going to be worth anything to you guys, I need to fix what's wrong with me. I need to find some-some peace."_

 _Tears prickled in Iris' eyes, too, "Barry, listen to me. You've been so strong. You've been so strong for_ us. _So I am telling you, we're gonna do the same thing for you. Wherever you need to go, whatever you need to do, do it. And when you get back, we'll all be here. I'll be here."_

" _Okay," Barry whispered._

" _I love you, Barry. We all do," Iris said. Something inside of him settled, one less piece of glass moving around inside him. One less ache eating at him. Warmth spread, hesitant, in his cold body when she pressed her lips to his forehead._

" _I love you, too." Barry said. Iris smiled at him once more, and then stood. She went back into the house, where Barry knew he wouldn't-_ couldn't _follow. The pure joy he could feel radiating from the room made him feel like he and the room were magnets, and he physically couldn't go in there and face his family. Not now. Maybe not ever. So he stood up. "That's why I'm so sorry. But I have to do this." And he ran._

 _Barry ran._

oO-Oo

 _Barry skid to a stop. He looked around, trying to find the landmarks that indicated he'd gone back in time to the worst night of his life. His heart sank when he quickly realized that he was nowhere near his childhood home, in fact he was probably nowhere near Central City. The surrounding buildings looked nothing like Central City, and he would know. Super-speed patrols as the Flash allowed him to take in all the angles he ran at and he could get plopped down in the middle of Central City without a compass and make his way to his second favorite theater easily. This was_ not _his city._

 _His spirits, already broken, were turned to dust when he registered the burning pain in his muscles. He felt like he'd tried to beat up Tony Woodward again. Black splotches floated across his vision, his head throbbed, his legs felt like they were melting. Barry looked around wildly, trying to discern where the hell he was. It didn't really look like Starling City, or Keystone. It didn't look like any city he'd been to. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something. A humanoid figure was standing on the roof across from his. He could faintly make out two little horn-like things sticking out from its head though, so he wasn't sure if it really was a human. Suddenly, his knees buckled under him. He staggered and tried to stay standing, but to no avail. The figure came closer._

" _Guh-huh," he grunted intelligently, "N-no…" The rest of his body came crashing down on the roof and he tried to scramble away from the figure. He could see now that it was a man, most likely. Maybe a metahuman. Either way, the man picked him up as if he weighed nothing. Up close to his face, Barry could see that there was blood staining the mask and trailing down the man's stubbly cheek._

" _Daredevil to Tower." The man said. His voice was deep and rich but it caught on some syllables as if he was in pain. It was subtle, but it was there. From his position, his head resting on the man's shoulder, he could faintly hear voices responding._

" _This is Tower, Captain America responding."_

" _Cap, we have a situation. Something weird just happened-"_

 _Barry's hearing tapped out for a moment. The sounds around him faded until they were too muffled for him to hear. It came back in about a minute though so he had time to hear, "…over to my house. Daredevil, out." The conversation seemed to stop then. Whoever it was that was carrying him must be part of an organized team. That spelled out disaster in every language for Barry. He wasn't able to concentrate on any of that because his legs still felt like they were melting off of his body. Fear ripped through him, and he feebly tried to struggle but it didn't do anything. The man carrying him only clicked his tongue at him. It didn't take too long for the man to arrive at what Barry assumed was his home. His eyes rolled around, taking in the room. A huge billboard shined bright light that sliced through the darkness. It was sort of drab, the furniture wasn't all that stylish but overall wasn't half bad._

 _Barry's mind usually held on to things that don't really matter when he was in agony._

 _Anyway, Barry was slipping. He was about to pass out of exhaustion, but before he could the man carefully laid him down on the couch. Fresh fear ran through his veins, granting him the extra burst of strength to allow him to wriggle on the cushions. To clarify: it gave him strength, not the ability to blatantly ignore unfathomable pain overwhelming him. He stopped moving because of the combination of pain and shock. The shock came from the man, which was now confirmed, pulling off his cowl._

 _Barry's body went limp._

oO-Oo

"Oh, crap," Tony spluttered. The kid had just gone and passed out in front of them. Steve was also looking concerned and alarmed as well. In fact, most of the team had stricken looks on their face. Except for Vision, of course, who had the same blank look on his face. Matt stepped forward and titled his head, listening for the kid's breath and heart, no doubt.

"He's fine. Just exhausted, and I think-" He was interrupted by the kid's stomach growling loudly. "Ah, hungry."

"Okay, yeah, that's cool. He's not from this universe. Care to explain, Matty?" Peter said, placing his hands on his hips. He had apparently voiced what the rest of the team was thinking because they all nodded. In unison. It was kind of creepy.

"It'll take a while and you might not believe me. I almost didn't until I realized that I have super senses, two of you are super soldiers, and Thor, the actual Norse god, is on our team. And I don't feel like standing for the entirety of the story so… " He sat down and gestured vaguely from the team to the floor. They complied, sitting in a circle in front of the couch as if they were about to engage in show-and-tell. "Anyway. So, his name is Barry Allen, and apparently he's the fastest man alive." Wanda flinched. He patted her hand apologetically. "I was patrolling the city, about a block away from here on a roof, when a heartbeat came out of nowhere. One second, nothing but my own heartbeat and the next there's someone else on the roof across from me. Barry's heart beats faster than a regular human's, sometimes too fast for me to actually hear it. It sounds more like a hum of sorts." He turned his sightless eyes to the strange man. "He's young. 25, maybe."

Steve's face hardens. "We have to help him, then." Bucky rubbed Steve's shoulder with his organic arm.

Natasha grimaces. "What if he's from HYDRA?"

"Then we help him escape. He wasn't lying when he said he's from a different universe." Matt said firmly.

"I'm in," Scott said. The team turned to him, looking incredulous. "What? The fastest man alive sounds pretty cool. Plus, look at that face. He's adorable." Bruce, Rhodey, Peter, and Wanda all nodded in agreement. The strange young man _is_ very cute. The adorably scrunched up ski-slope nose, furrowed eyebrows, long eyelashes, and rosy lips made him look like a sad puppy.

"The bug man is right, Nat. Look at him; he's like a sad puppy." Tony said, his eyes darting between Matt and Barry. "We have a wounded duck and a sad puppy in the room. This is ridiculous."

"So, this guy has superpowers and is from a different dimension and you focus on how cute he is?" Sam asked, squinting at Tony. "Get your priorities straight, Stark! We have to make sure he's not a threat."

"You don't think he is cute?" Wanda asked. She sounded offended.

"I didn't say that. He does look like a puppy, yes, but what if he really is from HYDRA? What is he's a spy?"

"He's getting weaker," Matt warned.

"Let's take him to the tower," Steve said decidedly and stood up, scooping up Barry with ease. He was completely limp in Captain America's arms. The team stood and followed him out the door and down into the limousine that Tony had gotten for them.

oO-Oo

 **In Another Universe…**

Iris stepped back into the house, rubbing a tear from her cheek. She wanted to be there for Barry like he was for her, for all of them, but she knew that giving him space was just as important for him to heal. He needed to find peace.

"Iris?" Joe smiled hesitantly.

"Hey, dad," Iris sat down on the couch next to her father and leaned her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around hers.

"What was that about? Is Barry okay?" Joe's question drew the attention of the others currently in his living room: Caitlin, Cisco, and Wally.

"He's…He's going to be okay. He just needs some time to heal." Iris said, looking absently toward the window. There was a burst of light which signaled that Barry had run somewhere at super-speed, but she wasn't worried. She knew Barry; she knew that he would leave a message of some sort if he was going to leave. She'd give him 4 days to say something, and if he didn't she'd raise the alarm.

Barry would be fine.

oO-Oo

 **A/N:** There are so many heroes I want to have as Avengers I really hope I don't neglect anyone too much….uh I hope you liked the chapter I'll be posting them every four days unless I get stumped on a part, and if that happens I'll get the chapter out as soon as possible. *inches away* I also may have changed the scene…a little…because I want to ship Barry and someone else…someone male. Okay. Sorry if you ship WestAllen. Bye bye!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Yes, good job me. I had _one_ job. Well. Not anymore I have like a thousand things to do all at the same time every hecking day so I'll be updating every Sunday now. Except the Sunday coming up, I'll be in Arizona and I won't have contact with a computer for like 4 days. That doesn't matter though because this chapter will count for the chapter I won't be able to post this Sunday. I hope that wasn't too confusing. Sorry, again, for not posting on time.

 **The Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel**

oO-Oo

Everyone was pacing. _Everyone_ was pacing. Joe, Caitlin, Cisco, Iris, and Wally were all pacing in a regular-sized living room, so there wasn't much room for all of them. They were waiting for Dr. Stein to come to that they could have a discussion. Barry is missing. This sent the entire team into disarray and unadulterated panic.

"Tell me what he said again, Iris." Joe stopped moving long enough to clamp his hands down on his daughter's shoulders.

"H-He just said that he needed to-to _fix_ what was broken, that's all. He didn't say anything about leaving, and even if he was going to go somewhere, he'd leave a message. I know Barry, he wouldn't want to scare us like this," she said, wringing her hands.

"Barry wouldn't purposefully leave without a trace!" Cisco said. He threw his hands in the air, frustrated and scared for his friend. "Ugh! W-What if, what if some metahuman took him? What if Zoom is-"

"Don't even bring that up! He's gone, Cisco, he has to be. Zoom is gone." Caitlin interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. None of them would be able to handle coming to terms with the possibility that the worst had happened. They knew that if Hunter Zoloman was back, somehow, he wouldn't come up with a convoluted plan to ruin Barry Allen's life. He would take him and kill him instantly. There was a possibility that the evil speedster would theatrically murder Barry in front of everyone he loves, or more likely the entire city. But it would all end with Barry's head detached from his body. "Zoom is _gone_."

"Okay…okay. Yeah. He's dead, and he isn't coming back. But what about metahumans?" Cisco started pacing again.

"Cisco, can you try and vibe him again?" Wally asked. It was the first thing he'd said from the start – when Iris had brought to light the fact that Barry hadn't checked in with them in four days. It may seem as if they were all acting like overprotective first-time parents, but after weeks of nerve-wracking tension and tragedy after tragedy, Barry wouldn't be at his best. In fact, he would be at his worst right now. The problem was that Barry deals with deep emotional pain by bottling it up, pushing away anyone that even remotely likes him, and taking it out on himself. Like after the singularity.

Even so, after the whole 'spontaneous-black-hole-slash-Flash-saves-the-city-slash-Eddie-dies-slash-Barry-sees-his-mother-die-again' fiasco, he kept minimal contact with his team, leaving a text here and there, or anonymously leaving them coffee or a pastry (it wasn't difficult to figure out he left the food). Now, it had been four days since what could easily be classified as the worst week in Barry Allen's life and none of them had heard anything from him. It was safe to say that something was wrong – more so than what was obvious.

"Alright. Pass me it," Cisco said, referring to the jacket Barry had been wearing on the night they'd last seen him. The suit was gone from STAR Labs, which had been the second clue that something was wrong. He clutched it in his hands and concentrated, trying to see him or better yet, contact him.

oO-Oo

Barry woke up a lot faster than he thought he would be able to. His body still felt heavy and his muscles ached as if he'd wrestled with King Shark, but his mind was clearer. Which meant he was able to realize that wherever he was, it wasn't STAR Labs. The smell of disinfectant and still there, but it lacked the quiet chatter that came with his injuries. Lady Gaga wasn't playing either (Cisco liked to think that it helped). He opened eyes slowly, noticing that despite being hooked up to an IV, there was no heart monitor. Weird. Whoever put him here must already know it's useless.

"Rise and shine, Baby Face." Someone said. This had him sitting up and clawing at his elbow to _get the hell out_. His heart had already been thudding in his chest and now was only a faint hum. "Whoa, kid!" Barry's eyes zeroed in on the man by the door, the one that had addressed him as 'Baby Face'. He had a goatee and bags under his eyes, and he was holding his hands out toward Barry. In the spur of the moment, his mind immediately made him think that the man was a metahuman, and that some wild shit was going to come out of his hands. Adrenaline rushed through his veins and lightning sparked in his eyes. In the span of a second, the needle was gone from his arm and he was at the door. He ignored the 'holy shit' that came from the man and scanned the room he'd run into. There was a group of people that he thought he seen before-

Oh. Oh yeah. Dimension traveling and Matt Murdock. The fear and alarm he'd felt had been first and foremost in his mind, but seeing the now-familiar stubble-covered face and sightless eyes snapped him out of it. His shoulders slumped and he stumbled back into the wall behind him, trying to slow his breath. Matt stood up and very slowly began to approach him, though Barry didn't know how the man knew where he was.

"Kid, er, Barry? Barry Allen?" The man behind him called out to him. Barry whipped his head toward him but kept facing the rest of the people in what appeared to be a living room. "Why don't you sit down," he gestured toward a plush armchair, "And we could…talk it out?"

"And-" Barry's voice was rough, and his throat hurt trying to talk, "And if I don't?"

"Then you'll be stuck in a strange, new dimension without anyway of replenishing your strength," A red-haired woman said firmly. "We aren't going to hurt you, Mr. Allen."

"Oh, yeah, because some deadly-looking lady told me so, it's true. I'll just sit down here and wait for General Eiling to pop out and torture me I guess, because you're about to _give me your word_ or some shit, huh?" Barry spat out angrily. They recoiled, looking horrified, and something dark in Barry felt pleased. He couldn't really hold it back. He was confused and afraid and surrounded by potential enemies, so it wasn't his first priority to keep his emotions in check. His eyes raked over the 13 adults back and forth until he realized that two of them didn't seem to belong. One had bright-red skin and a cape on, and the other was a goddamn child. Well, he wasn't 12 years old, but he was definitely young. His eyes were open wide in alarm and Barry realized that his entire body was vibrating, which meant that his voice was not only rough but also inhumanly distorted. Barry clenched his fists and concentrating on stilling his molecules.

"I don't know who you're talking about, Mr. Allen-"

"Barry. My father was Mr…" Barry's face went slack. His father. The image of a hand vibrating through his father's chest forced its way to the front of his mind. He cleared his throat and ignored the looks of pity from the complete strangers in front of him. "Just call me Barry."

"Alright, Barry. My name is Steve Rogers," said a large blond man, "This is my team." He introduced all of them, the red-haired lady he'd snapped at earlier being Natasha Romanoff and the man he'd run past being Tony Stark. The young man is Peter Parker and the not-so-human is Vision (yes, just Vision). The guy with the metal arm is Bucky Barnes, the man with some sort of device on his legs was James "Rhodey" Rhodes, and one of the unarmed men was Sam Wilson. The man next to him, the one with sharp features and hearing aids, was Clint Barton. The young woman with the foreign accent is Wanda Maximoff and the mild-mannered man with the lab coat is Bruce Banner. Finally, one of the more normal-looking men was named Scott. He had bags under his eyes as well, dark as bruises. "We're the Avengers." Steve finished.

Barry's raised an eyebrow. Cisco would've called them a book club. The thought of Cisco suddenly gave him an idea. The corners of his lips twitched up. Barry he'd just have to wait a little bit, maybe a week, for them to realize something had happened to him. He knew that Cisco would vibe him and that once they knew where he was it would be a matter of time until he was back home in his universe.

"I hope you don't mind Barry but to, ah, keep your body from shutting down I studied your vitals. I did some calculations and I'm guessing you're pretty hungry right about now." Bruce spoke up.

"That's fine. Better than trying to explain hyper accelerated metabolism." Barry waved his hand. "I am hungry, but I can't take your food-"

"Stop right there. I'm rich as hell, accept our food." Tony interrupted him before there was another 'I can't take your food' situation, which happened with Matt, Peter, Scott, and Wanda. Barry blinked at him, but nodded a moment later.

"I eat _a lot_ though. Just warning you now."

oO-Oo

"I mean, I told you I eat a lot," Barry shrugged and took a big bite of his 10th pancake. He'd devoured 2 full plates of bacon, 12 boiled eggs, a heaping pile of scrambled eggs, and was now sipping his 5th cup of milk. Sam topped him off with wide eyes, staring at the now-empty carton. More bacon was sizzling on the stove and Steve was making more scrambled eggs for him. Barry's stomach was steadily getting fuller which greatly helped his frayed nerves. He'd caved in when he saw the food being prepared. He was _so_ hungry.

"Not even Peter eats that much," Rhodey said, smiling. Peter looked over like a deer in headlights as he was stuffing a cinnamon and sugar muffin in his mouth. He tried to talk around the pastry, but Rhodey shushed him.

"I was hungrier than usual." Barry started on his last plate of eggs and bacon. He pointedly ignored how Natasha was staring at him and focused on not have an anxiety attack. Just as he was ignoring the woman's prying eyes, he was ignoring the severity of the situation. He knew if he thought about it, his would spiral into a mess of what if's and end up choking on his milk. "How long was I out?" He asked quietly.

"About 3 days." Natasha said.

While Barry was mulling this over, a silence had descended upon the group. Just because his trust was shattered and he didn't really trust these people, doesn't mean he couldn't show off a little. And anyway, he they wanted to kill him they could've done it while he was down. That left one motive: trying to figure out what made him the Flash. He could just stick around to see if they're trustworthy and if it turned out that they really were just planning to dissect him then he'd probably be back to full strength by then and could just beat the shit out of them.

Tony took advantage of the relative peace and asked, "So, _how_ fast are you, 'Fastest Man Alive'?"

Barry hummed and said, "Pretty fast." Tony pouted and Matt laughed.

"No use beating around the bush," Natasha said pleasantly. She slid Barry's cup of milk off the table. The team's exclamations slowed and as did the rest of the word. Half of the team was staring at Natasha and the other half was turning to look at Barry to see what he did. Wanda had her hands reaching toward the cup and Barry's breath caught in his throat. Red lightning had begun to crackle from her fingers, but was frozen in Barry's perspective. He made a mental note to ask about that later. Then, he reached down leisurely and grabbed the cup before a single drop of milk had left the cup. There was a quiet 'clink' as he placed it back on the table and the world sped up again.

"Holy shit," Scott spluttered. "That is _crazy!_ "

"Says the guy that talks to ants," Sam muttered.

"Do you have a treadmill?" Barry asked. Tony's face lit up like a kid in a candy shop.

"I have a lab," Tony said, grinning, "Would you care to step into my office?" Barry pursed his lips and nodded hesitantly. When he stepped forward, his knees buckled, but he straightened up before anyone could notice. He was still pretty weak, but the idea of running at super speed sounds pretty nice. He needs to stretch his legs. "Come on, Science Bros." Bruce, Scott, and Peter gave him a smile and then smacked Tony upside the head for calling them 'Science Bros' again.

oO-Oo

The rest of the team was milling around the observation area of the lab, while the other four were gathered around a treadmill that didn't look high-tech enough for Barry. Regardless, he stepped into it and started to walk a little. It felt similar to how Cisco's treadmill worked, but there was too much resistance. At least Barry had been able to change into some more comfortable clothes. The sweatpants and sweatshirt fit pretty well seeing as they were Scott's.

"So, I don't know how fast you can go, I tinkered with this treadmill a bit before you woke up because Matt told us that you're the fastest man alive. He didn't really say anything else, because, he's Matt and stuff, but anyway. It can handle 1200 mph thanks to these dorks," Peter said, gesturing to the rest of his science team, "But, yeah. Uh…go ahead.

"Hm. Well, going on past experiences, you should probably go over there," Barry gestured toward the other heroes. He stopped walking for a moment, stretching out his hamstrings and shoulders. He started to walk again and smoothly transitioned into a jog. Then, a full out sprint, and finally he turned into a blur. Lightning crackled around his form, arcing over his lanky limbs. He loved the satisfying burn that he felt in his legs and his lungs. Just as he was approaching 1200 mph, a voice spoke through a discreet speaker in the corner of the room.

"Yo, Barry, it's Scott," he said, "Try not to break Tony's toy, please." This made Barry smile, he wanted to short-circuit the treadmill but he held himself back. He knew that if he broke it, the treadmill would stop and his momentum would get him launched across the room. He went at an easy pace, 1000mph, and just let go of his worries for a little.

That is, until his head felt like it was going to burst. His speed stuttered for a moment, and then again a few seconds later. A voice echoed in his mind. He would know it anywhere. It was Cisco, trying to contact him. It never hurt when he was in the Speed Force, and maybe it was because he was surrounded by a force of nature or _whatever_ but all he knew at the moment was that he's in immense pain. His legs gave out and he hit the treadmill hard, there were gasps through the speaker, and he was tossed off of the machine because of its momentum. His back collided with the wall and knocked the air out of him.

"Oh, _fuck_ ," Barry clutched his head. He distantly heard Cisco calling out to him, but he couldn't focus. He suddenly realized that Steve was shaking his gently and asking him something.

"Are you okay?" Steve's voice pierces through the loud ringing in his ears. Barry grunts and squeezes his eyes shut. The light is suddenly too bright in his eyes.

"N-Not really," he wheezes, "I think my friend is trying to talk to me." The pain in his body ebbed away, but the headache remained. Steve looked at him as if he was crazy and Barry realized that he was referring to a literal voice in his head. "Okay, so don't jump to any conclusions that end up with me in a straight jacket. My friend, Cisco, has powers too and can open portals…and stuff." Steve still looked skeptical but he didn't really care seeing as Cisco was still trying to talk to him. He could discern some words liked 'worried', 'where', and 'please'. Barry sighed. "I think he knows I'm not where I'm supposed to be."

oO-Oo

 **A/N:** Yay! Cliffie! Stay tuned for bonding and a certain archer looking for his vigilante buddy. Cya next time, bye bye!


	4. Chapter 4

**The Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel**

 _Previously:_

" _My friend, Cisco, has powers too and can open portals…and stuff." Steve still looked skeptical but he didn't really care seeing as Cisco was still trying to talk to him. He could discern some words liked 'worried', 'where', and 'please'. Barry sighed. "I think he knows I'm not where I'm supposed to be."_

oO-Oo

"He has visions, w-we call them 'vibes'," Barry explained, "But maybe the…the gap between the two dimensions is too large." It felt like there was a steel-plated puffer fish rolling around in his head, poking everything, pushing against his skull. He bit his lip reflexively, subconsciously, but he didn't know why. It didn't help with the pain and it didn't distract him. Steve carefully cupped Barry's elbow in his hand and pressed the other to the middle of his back. He let himself be pulled up gently and tried not to chew through his lip.

"Well now I know to have, like, 10 inches of padding around the entire room and maybe not have glass…anywhere." Tony said. He looked unaffected externally, but internally he was fretting. What could cause a speedster to almost pass out in the middle of a super-speed run? He smothered his worry with sarcasm and snark, though.

Steve carefully walked him out of the room and deposited him on the couch Tony usually collapsed in after a long night of experiments. Once he was sitting, Barry continued explaining. "My head started to hurt, worse than a migraine. Like the time I got whammied…"

"What the _hell_ is 'whammied'?" Clint asked.

Barry waved him off, "That's not important," and then rubbed his eyes, "He stopped trying to talk to me." The pain subsided slightly, but a sharp pain was still present right behind his eyes. He rubbed them again vigorously, scrubbed his face and said, "I'll just-" He hunched his shoulders reflexively and rubbed his arms. Wanda stepped toward him slowly and grabbed his elbow gently.

"Maybe you should lie down," she said. Her voice caught a little. After seeing him run, seeing a human blur, memories of her late brother came rushing back. She felt a developing need to protect him like she did with Pietro. It was dangerous and stupid and she knew it wouldn't end well, after all Barry Allen is not of this universe, but it was inevitable. There was too much sentiment and emotion connected to speedsters.

"Okay," Barry said weakly and allowed her to lead him back to the common room. Tony, Scott, and Bruce stayed behind to analyze all of the data they got. Bruce went with the rest of the team to make sure Barry wasn't going to collapse or have a seizure.

Matt stayed near the witch and speedster, having similarly fallen victim to the latter's undeniable charm. It was like meeting Foggy all over again, except Barry could probably kill them all in fewer than 5 seconds with the same amount of effort it took to complete a child's crossword puzzle. The only reason Matt wasn't actively trying to figure out a way to incapacitate the younger man was that he knew Barry didn't have the ability to kill people. Sure, he was bitter and obviously has gone through a lot, but the haunted glint that was present in Frank's eyes wasn't in Barry's. He hadn't _yet_ killed someone.

And that is enough for Matt.

oO-Oo

Barry sat down heavily on the plain white bed. Everything in the room was white or chrome, all of the furniture stylish and minimalist. They were organic shapes, all curves and no sharp edges. Even the window corners curved. The sheets smelled lovely and were very soft and the pillows were fluffy. _Of course_ the mattress was memory foam and had a control to move half of it up or down.

Dr. Banner had checked his lungs, tested his reflexes and generally just poked and prodded him. The diagnosis was, thankfully, physical exhaustion. He told Barry to eat as often as he needed and more so that his body had the energy to heal itself. Apparently the run on the treadmill had only worsened matters, if not only by a little bit. The bad news was that he shouldn't run as an inhuman rate for a while, but the good news was that his speed wasn't 'jacked up' as Barry had so eloquently put it. He didn't really want to go into detail about how he was afraid that his speed would come only in bursts like it had for his former mentor, Harrison Wells, who was actually Eobard Thawne from the future who was now nonexistent because his best friend's late boyfriend had shot himself in the heart. So Barry wasn't embarrassed about his wording. He was just glad that Dr. Banner hadn't pried and instead let Wanda and Matt escort him to a guest room.

Wanda and Matt was standing at the doorway currently, poking their heads in.

"You can sleep here for as long as you need to. I believe that tomorrow Tony and someone else, most likely Scott or Peter, will drag you out to shop for clothes." Matt said.

"But I couldn't-" Barry started,

"Do not worry about it, Barry. Tony is a very rich man," Wanda reassured. She smiled at him.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to tell us." Matt said. "I might not be around much. My law firm needs me, and I patrol at night. You can find me in Hell's Kitchen."

"And I will be at the Tower most of the time. I'd like to talk to you about your powers when you can," Wanda's smile faltered, "My brother was like you. Very fast." Barry caught the way she said 'was' and the overwhelming sadness in her eyes and decided to just nod at her.

"Thank you." Barry said. "For everything."

"It is no problem." Wanda nodded to him and then waved goodbye, heading to her own room now. Matt said his farewells, too, and followed her lead. He closed the door behind him.

Barry flopped onto the oh-so-soft comforter and breathed in deeply. In, out, in out. In, in, out. He stopped. In. In. In. He breathed out, short and sharp. Inoutinout _inoutinout-_

He bit his lip to keep from making too much noise as he crawled under the sheets and curled in on himself. The weight of the sheets and the contact with the pillow helped a little bit but he still didn't have a rhythm. Burying his face in the pillow he gasped and gasped until he felt hot tears wetting the fabric and the skin all around his eyes. His stomach flopped around in him and he staggered over to the bathroom attached to the room, which was spinning violently. It was all crashing down on Barry. 'It' being the months of unbelievable amount of negative emotions. Stress, sadness, disappointment, horror, fear, disgust, and frustration, all of which was because of or related to Hunter Zolomon. _Zoom_. Another imposter had gotten the best of him, of his team, his family. He'd killed Barry's father just when he'd gotten him back. He'd broken Caitlin's heart and he knew she'd never be the same again.

Barry's thoughts whirled in his brain and he tried not to throw up, but he leaned over the toilet just in case. _Oh God,_ he thought. It had just occurred to him that maybe these people really were evil. Sure, they acted the part but so had "Wells". So had "Jay". What if they were waiting until he fell asleep to ambush him? What if the milk was poisoned?

What if they were going to kill his family?

Barry threw up into toilet.

oO-Oo

Matt strode into the common room and announced lowly, "Barry is having a panic attack." He winced. "He just vomited." Tony, Peter, and Scott had returned from the lab so most of the team was present.

"We should-" Steve began.

"Not we. In fact, maybe not any of us. Barry is obviously struggling with recent trauma and a group of strangers that can potentially harm him wouldn't help very much. The best course of action is to let him ride it out and seem as innocent as possible." He glares at Clint, Natasha, and Bucky.

"No assassin threats or passive aggressiveness with 'I'm-can-kill-you-where-you-stand' undertones, because, honestly, you can't," Peter adds.

Natasha tilts her head him and Clint pouts. Bucky's face remains blank except for a slight squint of his eyes.

"And how do you figure that?" Natasha asks. Peter cheers silently in his head when he doesn't flinch.

"See, Barry's power is speed. If he's creative enough, he can do a lot more than just run fast. Theoretically he can phase through anything, wear down material, and manipulate the weird lightning that surrounds him." He started to pace and gestured with his hands. "He can outrun anything, create after images, he can tear a hole through the fabric of the universe for fuck's sake!" He threw his hands up in the air.

"Language," Scott muttered, smirking. His eyes betrayed how awed he was, though. Barry had so much potential that if he was a villain, the entire human race would have to watch out.

"He can travel back in _time_ ," Peter continued, "Create strong winds by spinning his arms. The possibilities are endless. He may even be immortal." He said breathlessly. He started to mutter under his breath, theorizing, and paced faster.

"Care to explain?" Clint turned toward Tony now, who was smiling fondly at Peter.

"His cells are in a constant state of regeneration. I'm not sure of the limits of his healing factor, but it is possible that the regeneration will never end as long as he continues to provide his body with nutrients."

"So he can kill us all if he wants to." Bucky says. Natasha nodded and hummed. Steve scowled.

"I doubt that," Matt said firmly before the situation could spiral out of control. "He isn't the type of person to kill easily. If we don't give him the incentive to murder us all brutally, then he won't."

oO-Oo

Iris resisted the urge to bite her nails as her phone rang. It was Felicity.

"Hi, Felicity." She said meekly.

" _Hey, Iris! I was just calling to ask if Barry was there. He isn't answering his phone. I'm actually getting a little worried. Even Oliver is getting his knickers in a twist._ " Despite the other woman's light tone, Iris knew she was concerned. Iris scrubbed her face and sat down on the couch in her father's home. She sighed heavily. " _Iris?_ "

"I'm sorry, Felicity. We don't know where Barry is." Her voice caught on his name.

" _W-What do you mean you don't know where he is?_ " Felicity yelled. Iris could hear faintly in the background what sounded like Roy, Laurel, and Thea.

After an incident with knives and Barry's hip, Team Arrow had practically adopted Barry into their twisted family, which functioned as a wolf pack, too. It was simultaneously _very_ endearing and intimidating.

"We haven't seen him in days, Felicity. Zoom is dead and there aren't any metahumans left that we know of. We don't _know_ …."

" _Okay. Okay. No reason to panic, right? I mean, his father was killed, like, 5 days ago or something. There could be someone else evil out there looking specifically for Barry because that's just his luck. Oh God-"_ There was some rattling and muffled yelling on the other side of the line.

"Felicity?" Iris cried.

" _Hello Iris."_ There was a new voice now.

"Hello, Oliver," she said tiredly. "You heard all of that, right?" She pinched the bridge of her nose and held back tears. _Ugh. Goddammit,_ Iris thought. She'd been crying more than usual this week on account of her mother dying and other such things that could make stronger people crumble.

"Yes. I apologize for Felicity." Iris something like a car door slamming and more yelling. "We're heading over to STAR Labs."

Iris grimaced. "You don't need to-"

"I know."

"But?"

"I want to. Barry is family. We'll be there soon."

"Okay."

"We'll find him soon."

"Okay." Iris said softly.

oO-Oo

 **A/N:** GODDAMNIT ITS 12.42! I was _so_ close! Ugh whatever. Whatever. It's there. Hope you liked it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

 **The Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel**

oO-Oo

Barry dreamt of death.

 _Barry Allen stood in a room. He registered it was blank, but his senses didn't extend very far. He smelled something burning and turned around. It felt like the room was filled with water, muffling everything and keeping his movements from being very smooth, but there wasn't a drop of liquid anywhere. In fact, the only thing that occupied the room was him and a deformed figure on a burning cross. He was suddenly aware of a horrible screaming piercing the air. Hoarse, bloodcurdling words formed out of shrieks._

" _JUST LIKE ME, BARRY ALLEN!"_

 _Barry felt nauseated. The figure on the cross was a gruesome mix of Hunter Zolomon's face and his Zoom costume. The fabric melded with flesh and blood poured down over his body. There were no injuries save the horrible burns and charred skin that was now chipping away, blowing in the wind together with the smoke. Barry tried to say something, tried to move, but nothing happened._

" _Why, Barry? Why did you let him kill me?"_

 _He turned again. To his right was his father, blood pumping from his shredded heart. Tears poured over his pale gray face like twin waterfalls._

" _You left us, Barry, when we needed you. And you think we can forgive you that easily?" Now Cisco, Caitlin, and Iris were to his left. They looked_ so _angry and disappointed. The rage on Cisco's face was disturbing and the chilly glare Caitlin gave him was full of hate. Iris couldn't even face him._

" _It's your fault, Barry Allen."_

 _The room around him vanished, turning into his childhood home. There stood Eddie Thawne, Bette Sans Soucie, and Ronnie Raymond. Blood poured from them, too, where their killing injuries where. They looked at him with pure loathing in their eyes._

 _Barry wanted to say something,_ anything, _but he was physically unable to. No words escaped him. He could barely feel his body. That is, until he was suddenly burning, flames licking at his hands and legs. Heat enveloped his whole body, his brain felt too hot, and a scream bubbled in his throat._

Barry gasped, his eyes flying open. He was sweating buckets and a couple tears escaped his eyes and his chest heaved and his heart was beating as if it was making up for lost time. He coughed and spluttered quietly, and his limbs were tangled up in the sheets which suddenly felt too thick and heavy. Bile rose in his throat, but he kept it down and rolled out of bed. Literally. He hit the floor with a thud and groaned lowly. Cold air hit his damp hair and made him shiver but he preferred it over the terrible heat. He straightened, still laying on the floor, and sighed deeply. _Right. Still in an alternate universe,_ Barry thought to himself. He looked around the room and noticed no light came through the soft gray curtains. His eyes trailed the slightly darker paisley pattern on the curtains. He could already feel a headache coming on like a storm. He rolled over sluggishly to get away from the soft faux-fur rug and squished his cheek against the freezing floor. It was comforting enough for him to doze off again.

When he woke again, bright light filtered through the curtains. The clock read 10 AM now which gave Barry the motivation to actually get off the floor. He sighed again and slowly got to his feet, and then headed over to the bathroom. The shower had a smorgasbord of buttons with simple little pictures next to them. For example, one chrome button had what appeared to be a steam cloud next to it. Another had a full bathtub, and the one under that had a bathtub full of pink bubbles. Thankfully, there were two simpler sliding switches with a red "H" and a blue "C" next to them, respectively.

Soon enough he was standing under a stream of hot water, scrubbing at his hair with 2-in-1 expensive shampoo/conditioner. _Everything_ in the Tower was expensive. Even the peach-smelling body wash was high-end. Once he was no longer sticky from sweat and smelled of fresh peaches and lemon, he dried himself off with a fluffy towel and…

Remembered that he doesn't have any clothes. He wrapped the towel around his waist and searched through the closet. Relief flooded him when he saw that there were sweatpants, a simple shirt, and a sweatshirt for him to wear. Socks and a pair of sneakers were waiting for him, too. He steeled his nerves and turned the knob. Instead of finding a crowd of super-humans/assassins staring at him, all he saw was an empty living room. And more importantly, a coffee machine.

Like everything else in the building the coffee machine was sleek and looked _way_ too advanced. It reminded Barry of the shower because this, too, had buttons all over it. One was to add a vanilla shot; another was for extra caffeine, etc. He felt awkward wandering around the spacious kitchen, opening cabinets as quietly as possible and looking for the coffee grinds. When he _did_ find the coffee grinds, his eyes widened comically. There were three large cabinets full of different types of coffee grinds. Some were foreign or extra dark roast, or had ingredients that didn't really make sense.

He hesitantly grabbed the simplest looking one and almost sighed in relief when it was a simple roast. Soon enough he was patiently waiting for coffee and wondering about the day blearily. Now that the morning rush of energy (it was really just willpower) had faded away, he was wondering if he should just go back to bed. Then all thoughts of sleep vanished, replaced with frantic and panicked thoughts of his family. Homesickness gripped his chest tightly and left him feeling cold in this strange place he was in.

 _Ding_ , the coffee maker blinked at him. His mug was filled with steaming coffee. He bit his lip in thought for a moment, and then pressed the caffeine button a couple times. Then he added 3 shots of cream and 4 sugars. (He secretly loved the buzz it gave him when he drank lots of caffeine. It clashed wonderfully with his speed.)

As he was sipping his hot coffee, someone's voice startled him greatly. "Good morning, Barry." He breathed in sharply, making the hot beverage shoot up into his nose.

"Shit!" He hissed, grabbing his nose and scrunching it up in pain. He turned quickly and saw that Wanda had snuck up on him. She was obviously holding back full-blown laughter, but to Barry's relief she only let a few stray giggles through her hands. "Owwww," he groaned, which then prompted her giggles to stop.

"Oh, I am so sorry," she said, frantically looking around for napkins. Barry, who'd stumbled upon the napkins, waved off her apology and cleaned the coffee off of his hands and face.

"Don't worry about it." Barry said with a lopsided smile.

Wanda's heart melted when he smiled at her. He really did look like a puppy, with his ski-slope nose and cheeks slightly flushed. There were bags under his eyes, though, and the green irises seemed dim. When she came near him it felt as though a heavy blanket of negative emotions was draped over her entire body. Thankfully he didn't project his thoughts, or else Wanda would have access to what she guessed were very private emotions.

"Did you sleep well?" Wanda asked politely.

Barry hesitated for a moment, "Yeah." The witch took it as a sign to not ask. It was blatantly obvious that he was fibbing, and by the way he was focusing on his coffee. He sipped it despite the fact that it was room temperature now. "So, Matt said you wanted to take me shopping?" His body language screamed reluctance.

"Yes," she said, "And I believe that Peter would like to accompany you. He is very interested in your powers. Tony does not like to leave the lab if he can avoid it, and Bruce loathes leaving the Tower in general. I believe that Scott will want to come along, though." Her nails clacked on the kitchen counter pleasantly and she hummed thoughtfully. "Steve does not like being spotted in public, and Scott and Pete are like children, so I believe that either Natasha or I should come."

"What about Clint and Bucky?" He asked curiously and smiling faintly at the comment about Peter and Sam. He knew he was getting ahead of himself, seeing as these were virtually strangers. The Avengers were just so _interesting_ ; he couldn't help but act like a fanboy.

Sympathy sparkled in Wanda's eyes. "Bucky likes to stay with Steve. He says it reminds him of who he is," she said vaguely. "And Clint can be serious when he wants to be, but he believes that all 'newbies' should, and I quote, 'Have a taste of Avenger medicine so that we can weed out the babies'. For some reason, he laughed very hard after that. I believe it is a 'reference'."

Barry huffed out a laugh. These people just seemed so _human_. Well, not in appearance, but they all had a certain quality that came with honest humans. _Like Hunter,_ he thought grimly. His expression became guarded and cold at that connection and his shoulders tensed. He put the mug down slowly. Honestly, he didn't want to have to intimate or do anything other than be friendly to Wanda, but these people needed to understand he would fight if need be.

"Wanda," Barry said lowly, "You would tell me if the others had…bad intentions?" His eyes moved slowly and deliberately to her, staring intently at her out of the corner of his eye.

Wanda stiffened. The way the speedster had switched between personalities had almost given her whiplash. Now he was giving off a sort of mental barrier that felt incredibly similar to broken glass. It was as if his shattered trust had manifested in his subconscious. In fact, it was probably conscious the way his dark mood seemed to seem into the surrounding area, making her want to take 10 large steps away from him.

Barry regarded the witch coldly for a moment longer. He pushed off the counter and swiped his mug at the same time, depositing it in the sink swiftly. He wanted to use his super speed, but-

…

" _See, Barry, using your speed is like using a muscle. You pretty much overexerted that muscle when you broke the dimensional barrier, which is thick enough to cause an 'injury' to that muscle. It's like you pulled that muscle. Have you ever pulled a muscle, Barry?" Dr. Banner said._

 _"Uh, yeah, I have." He had taken track when he was younger, in high school. The therapists had recommended a sport or some sort of physical way to take out his anger and frustration on. It had worked until one day he'd run too hard and had been unable to do more than hobble around school. He didn't run much after that._

" _Okay. Did you feel a strain in the lab?"_

" _Yes. I've done something similar before. It felt the same when I ran after that…" Barry trailed off. The sensation of running in that lab had been disturbingly familiar. He'd just now realized that he'd felt the exact same thing after failing to save his mother, when he was trying to unravel the singularity. It was to a lesser degree back then, though, which was why he'd been successful._

"… _Alright. Try not to use your speed for a few days, probably only 3-4 days. It may take less time because of your healing factor, but since your power isn't something tangible I may be wrong."_

" _You might- Ah, what's the possibility of you being wrong?"_

 _Bruce hummed. "50-50," he deadpanned._

…

He held his hand up and vibrated it slightly. He winced when a feeling of strain and dull pain emanated from his appendage and a spot right in the middle of his chest.

Wanda still hadn't spoken. He took that as answer. She was loyal to her team, which may or may not have incredibly evil plans in store for him that may include a vivisection. He was about to take a chance and speed his way through the foreign city and hope for the best when she turned to him, facing his back and hunched shoulders.

She spoke softly, "We do not have any intentions other than to help you get home."

"And I should trust you." His question was more of statement. Hunter Zolomon's face was burned into his mind. Anger filled him to the brim. It felt like rage was radiating off him, pulsing out violently.

Wanda winced and did take a step back now, the hatred forming a spiked aura around him. "That is up to you, Barry Allen."

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut. Silence buzzed in their ears as they waited in a stalemate. Neither one felt like anything they could say would be appropriate, or would truly express what they felt. In fact, Barry was torn between even that. Acting like he trusted them and saying nothing would prevent him from being surprised when ( _If,_ a voice whispered quietly in his mind, it was very faint) the other shoe dropped and they tried to strap him down to a metal table. However, Wanda seemed to be honest and open right now. If he really did let himself trust them, then he may be able to get home a lot faster than he could alone.

Barry's shoulders fell. He clamped down on his emotions and the white-hot anger cooled down into a sort of old sadness and bone-deep exhaustion. He was silent as he kept walking to the couch. He sat down heavily, elbows digging into his knees and hands covering his face. His bones felt like they were made out of lead, it felt as though gravity was weighing down on him twice as much. Tears of exertion wet his palms even though he hadn't done anything to warrant a single drop of sweat. A headache was building in his head, pressing against his skull and sinuses. Barry's breathing hitched.

"I don't know," he said bluntly. "Wanda- You just- You sound like a good person. You _sound_ like you're telling the truth."

"What is the problem, then?" She asked, not unkindly.

Barry stood suddenly at that, turning to her sharply. "The _problem_ is that so did he! _He_ acted like a human being, a good one, and he-" Barry's eyebrows drew together and he bit his lip to keep from sobbing. "And now my father is dead. So I don't know, Wanda. I don't."

Wanda approached him tentatively. Her fingers lightly brushed his tense shoulder. He flinched away, but she persisted. "Barry." He didn't turn. "I am truly sorry about what happened to you. We don't want to harm you. None of us do…in fact I believe that Peter already adores you. You're _safe_ here."

"Oh, I've heard that before," Barry said bitterly. However, he didn't shy away from her touch this time. His aura was calming down after spiking a bit.

"…If I am lying, you need not worry about my intentions, correct? None of the Avengers are speedsters. We are putting our trust in you, believing that you will not harm us with your super-speed. None of us would be able to stop you, but we are letting you into our home. You have full control of the situation." Barry's shoulders relaxed. He turned fully toward her, and hope sparked in his eyes.

"Then…" Barry's cheeks flushed a bit. "Will you take me shopping?"

oO-Oo

Barry was _astounded_. There were so many things to be amazed at all at the same time.

 _Firstly._ Despite having been bitten by a radioactive spider when he was 17 and having to be a superhero labeled vigilante for three years, Peter Parker still had (most) of his sanity and could still smile relatively easy. He obviously had gone through a lot because, hello, he's an Avenger and one of the accidental requirements was emotional unbalance, terrible coping mechanisms, and the perpetual inability to smile genuinely. Yet the youngest Avenger was still incredibly charming with his rambling and blushing and science-y terms that made Barry's head spin. He bounced on the balls of his feet and sometimes walked too fast in front of their little rag-tag group and had to circle back, but instead of getting back to their group he just ended up circling around them. It was impossibly adorable.

The second thing that was knocking Barry off-kilter was the fact that he was walking down the street with Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. Now, if he was from this universe it would have an even greater impact on him, but he still realized that it sounded like the set up for a silly joke. "Half the Avengers and one speedster were walking down the street…"

Anyway, they were heading toward a nice mall where Barry could buy everything he needed (and wanted, Tony had explicitly said that Barry could buy anything he wanted as long as it wasn't the entire mall). Thankfully, the choice of members to accompany them was inconspicuous enough so that they didn't get any weird looks. After all, Natasha and Clint kept an incredibly low profile, no one knows who Spider-Man or Ant-Man is, and Wanda's existence was need-to-know information. If Tony or Steve had come, they would've been swamped with fans. The Avengers were like celebrities, people want their babies to be kissed by them. So it was better this way.

Barry swiveled his head around and tried to take in all of the mall sights. There were no big differences between the malls in this universe and his own. There were small fountains, a variety of stores, elevators, and the smell of junk food mingling with the pungent odor of soaps and lotions wafting from the store next to the entrance. Families roamed around and Barry could see nuclear families with either well behaved or screaming children, but he could also spot younger couples and groups of teens laughing and smiling. The atmosphere was friendly and energetic which made Barry feel a lot better than how he did in the morning.

"Let's get you some clothes first," Natasha said, "And then we can walk around to see if you need anything else." Barry nodded, so the group headed over to the store Scott suggested and spent at least two hours there. A good portion of it was Barry fretting over how expensive something was and the rest of the team trying to convince him that the only thing that was even a little questionably expensive was the entire mall. In the end, Barry got lots of stylish shorts, jeans, shirts, and sweaters.

"Let's go get ice cream," Peter said cheerfully. Scott and Clint nodded vehemently.

"Not Baskin Robbins though," Scott muttered. Eyebrows were raised in his direction. "Baskin Robbins always finds out," he said solemnly.

"Um….okay. No Baskin Robbins." Peter patted Scott's shoulder. "We'll just go to Ben & Jerry's."

Soon enough, they'd all gotten their cold treats. Peter got New York Super Fudge Chunk, Clint got Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobbler, Wanda got Chocolate Macadamia, Scott got From Russia with Buzz, Natasha got Strawberry Cheesecake, and Barry got Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz.* Despite the fact that he had to actively stay still and not vibrate wildly, there was a sense of normalcy that made him feel so much lighter. He could easily blend in with these people; just as easily as when he went down the block with Cisco and Caitlin to have a drink.

Barry's eyes darkened, but his smile stayed in place. Thinking of them made his heart ache with a homesickness he'd only felt when trapped in Earth-2 with the threat of Zoom hanging over his head. At least now he didn't have to worry about baddies trying to kill him.

As the speedster finished that thought, the lights were switched off and everything went to hell. Seconds after the confused murmuring of the other families started, an announcement was made.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am not sorry for the inconvenience. In fact, I am very happy today! All of you are going to place all of your valuables in the middle of whatever wing of the mall you're in. If you resist, the entire building will come down," the announcer said.

Peter smacked his hand to his forehead. "Dear God, why," he groaned lowly. "I recognize that voice. It's Electro."

"The one with the electricity?" Natasha asked sharply.

"Yep. One of many."

She nodded curtly now and turned to look at the rest of the team. "Scott, stick with Wanda. Peter, come with me, Barry stay on standby. _Do not_ use your powers unless necessary, clear?"

"But-" Barry tried.

" _Clear?_ "

"Crystal." He said quickly. Of course, he only said that because she was looking at him with her cold, calculating "Black Widow" stare. He would absolutely use his powers to help; he couldn't just sit around while these people fought for him. So for now he had to comply, and when the threat made itself known, he'd take it out. Seeing as he was the fastest man alive it only made sense that he take on the baddie. He could _defeat_ the baddie in a millionth of a second. That is, if his opponent wasn't another sociopathic speedster, because then he'd have to go through the obligatory near-death experience and the loss of someone incredibly close to him.

Barry acknowledges that he is bitter and doesn't give a fuck.

"…Keep close to Scott and Wanda. Scott's suit is back in the Tower for safety reasons, so Wanda will keep an eye on you. Peter and I will scope out the area and if we don't need back up we'll take out Electro by ourselves. Stay low and out of sight."

"Yes, ma'am!" Scott said, saluting. He grinned as Wanda smacked him upside the head and grabbed Barry's wrist, leading him to the shop closest to them. It was a book store that had a café connected to it, and there were many people stuffed into it. Barry could feel the fear radiating off of them and felt himself tense up, lightning sparking in his eyes. Wanda put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"Do not," she said simply. Barry looked away silently.

That was when the wall in front of the book store exploded.

Bits of rubble flew across the air and skidded across the floor. Smoke and dust billowed out, and in the middle of it a dark figure appeared. It was holding another, slimmer figure, which was then thrown in the direction of the little store. The smaller body smashed into Scott and Wanda, but with their combined strength and Wanda's quick thinking they didn't barrel over. Barry stayed facing the other figure and tried to peer through the thinning smoke.

"Peter!" Wanda cried. _Now_ Barry turned back and saw that the body was actually Peter and that he was unconscious and bleeding already. "Barry, look out!" She said quickly.

Lightning sparked across his skin and he turned just in time to reach his arms out and brace himself to catch Black Widow. He put her down just as quickly and was relieved to see that she was still awake. She had soot and little cuts littering her right arm, but in mostly one piece.

By now, the dust had cleared and Electro was visible. He was grinning at them.

"Honestly, a woman and a child trying to take me down. Maybe I should up the ante and go straight to the Avengers."

"Barry," Natasha hissed, "Don't you _dare_."

"Please don't kill me later," Barry muttered. He then leapt out toward Electro and said, "You can't go against the Avengers if a simple guy like me can take you, right?"

The villain barked out a laugh and thrust his hand out toward Barry, making blue lightning spark out toward him. The shock of the color itself damn near caused Barry to stand still and get electrocuted, but he still had his head on enough so that he lunged to the side and rolled. He smoothly got up and sprinted in the direction of the currently shut down escalator. He took three steps at a time and ducked as another spear of lightning crackled through the air at his turned back. Finally, he reached a deserted area and whipped around to face Electro with a smirk on his face.

"I'm not really that much of a simple guy, to be honest." After multiple burning shoe incidents, Barry knew it was better to discard them early on in a fight rather than get embarrassed and keep them on, which later burned his feet terribly and caused more pain than necessary. So he quickly tossed his shoes to the side and held back laughter at Electro's baffled face, and darted forward with super-speed, landing 3 punches in the span of 1 second. The strain was still there, odd and stifling and bordering on painful, but he powered through and spun Electro around until he literally slipped from his fingers and he smashed into a wall.

"W-What the hell?!" Electro yelled, getting up on his hands and knees. "What are you, you freak! A demon!"

"Um, you literally shot lightning….from your hands."

"I use _machines!_ You aren't _human!_ "

"I'm more human than you, threatening a mall full of innocent people." Barry said lowly. He sped over and kept his body vibrating and his voice distorted to add to the fear shining in Electro's eyes. "Don't ever hurt another soul and maybe I won't go after you. Maybe." He grabbed a fistful of the villain's ridiculous costume and punched him a couple more times for good measure, his vibrating hand breaking his nose and causing some smoke to curl off of his now burned and raw skin.

He reared his fist back for one more punch when his entire world when white and pain exploded throughout his whole body. He was vaguely aware of what seemed like a never-ending scream ripping through his throat. It felt disturbingly similar to that night in the lab, when he gained his speed. However this time he stayed awake through the whole thing and after, so that he fell to his knees and let go of Electro.

"Had…one more trick…up my sleeve," Electro said, and then passed out. Barry staggered to his feet, trying to get back to the others and fell back down. There was a terrible buzzing in his body and smoke was now drifting off of him, too, mostly from his palm and left collarbone. His heart felt like it was beating too fast and too hard for it to be healthy, even for a speedster. He gasped and wheezed, trying to get air back in his lungs, and blacked out.

oO-Oo

 **A/N:** Okay first things first. I am _so_ sorry that I missed an update. High school is…well, it's treating me like its personal chew toy. I didn't rush the chapter because I wanted to try and make it extra long to make up for the wait. Second: I believe I've found a way to make the whole "Bucky is here and so is Vision" thing work: CACW didn't happen, but Bucky was found! [Smiles widely] It's all okay! I am so tired!

*I swear to gog these are real ice cream flavors in Ben & Jerry's, go look it up. Now I really want to go and get a crap ton of flavors lmao. I got a vibe from each description and decided that it suited each character respectively. I suggest you look them up to get a feel for it.

 **A/N (12:14AM):** HHHHAAA CLIFFIE HAVE FUN WITH THAT LMAOOOO


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hello guys! I don't believe I've mentioned this or made this clear if I have, but I wanted to say this now: I'm hoping to make this a long story. That means that some of these chapters will be fillers where it'll just be Barry and the Avengers chilling, fighting baddies, and eating lots and lots of food. On the other hand, some will be action packed! You'll be staring at your screen very hard, please do not do that, it's bad for your eyes! Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

 **The Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel**

oO-Oo

It was incredibly difficult to sort through all of the information Barry's senses were taking in, all of it was jumbled so he could only get a vague understanding of his surroundings. He was lying somewhere soft, and his clothes were equally soft. Sheets…or blankets were covering most of his body, up to somewhere around his elbows. It was very quiet wherever he was, but there was muffled talking somewhere in front of what he was lying on.

His eyelids felt like they were weighed down and it took a frustrating amount of concentration to open them. Once they were open, he had to blink for a solid 2 minutes to get used to the darkness surrounding him. His head still felt like it was detached from his body, floating around, keeping the rest of him numb. Barry tried to get his arm moving and drag the sheets off of him, but all he did was twitch his fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused hard on moving his sore muscles. His feet moved around a bit and he could finally lift his arms up just enough for the sheets to slide off of them. Along with the movement came a sharp groan, pain shooting along his joints like little electric shocks.

 _Oh, yeah,_ Barry thought. He now remembered what had happened back in the mall and instantly tried to sit up as fast as possible. Emphasis on 'tried'. In reality he ended up barely getting his torso off of the mattress and instead flopped onto his side. Another moan escaped him but this time drawn out and a little louder. When he had been lying down, the dull pain in the rest of his muscles had remained dormant but with the panicked attempt at sitting up, it exploded through his back and core.

Regardless of the discomfort, he needed to see if the others were okay. He _needed_ to know that Peter and Natasha were okay, that Electro had been taken care of and hadn't gone after Wanda, Clint, and Scott. Thankfully for him his enhanced healing had been working valiantly while he had slept, however long that was, so the pain was already ebbing.

"Mmph," Barry lifted himself off of the bed, slowly this time, and staggered over to the door. The exertion caused some pressure to form behind his eyes and black spots to creep in at the edges of his vision. He stopped for a moment and breathed deeply, chasing away the darkness, and then opened up the door and hobbled out. His muscles were still too tense, making it hard to move as quickly or smoothly as he'd wish to. As he stepped out into the common area, he was greeted by too-bright lights and sharp pain behind his eyes. His hand came up to block the offensive light and he scrunched up his face as a reflex. Once Barry could see, he made his way over to the couch and took into account who was sitting on it as well. Tony, Matt, Bruce, Natasha, and Clint were all comfortably sitting on the long couch that curved around the table in the middle of the room.

"Good evening, Sleeping Beauty!" Tony grinned at Barry.

"Ugh- Keep it down, please. Just- Just shhhh." The speedster said and waved a hand at the man. "Maybe dim the lights…or turn them off."

"Fine, fine," Tony said, this time much quieter.

"What time is it?" Barry asked. By now the headache had faded away fairy quickly, so it only left the tightness in his muscles to bother him.

"Half past midnight." Bruce told him. He stood and walked over to Barry now, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got shot with arrows again," he said and then muttered under his breath, "Or went back in time…again." Several of them raised their eyebrows at him, but only Clint spoke. Matt decided not to comment on the second example, he'd have to ask Barry about it himself in private.

"How the hell do you know what getting shot with _arrows_ is like?" He seemed to be asking questions along the line of that much too often around Barry. He didn't like not being in the know.

"I have an archer friend back in my universe," Barry said airily. However, his slight smile quickly turned into a frown one of confusion when Bruce leveled him with an annoyed glare.

"Barry, do you know _why_ you feel so tired and why your muscles are no doubt hurting right now?" The scientist's question was entirely rhetorical, obviously, but Barry didn't want to just sit there like a child being chastised for sticking his hand in the cookie jar.

"Because…I worked out…a lot. Yesterday. I did not use my speed to fight. Nope." A bit of homesickness filled him when he realized he sounded so much like Felicity right now. He kept his focus on the doctor before him, though, and watched as the corners of his lips twitched like he didn't know whether to frown or smile.

"Because you went against your doctor's very specific orders and strained yourself, that's why." Barry noticed the way Clint and Matt were edging away from them and swallowed nervously. "If you pull something like that again, a headache won't be the least of your troubles," he said gruffly, "but at least you didn't do too much damage."

"Goodie," Tony swiped his pad a few times. "Once you're in top condition we're definitely running some tests. Peter wants to know if he should fanboy over your powers or be horribly disappointed."

"Uh, sure, Tony. Anything for my fans." Barry smirked at the man, expertly hiding the slight nervousness that came with the word 'tests', and leaned back into the cushions with yet another small groan. He felt like an old man limping around and moving much to slow for a speedster. "So what are you all doing up?"

"I don't need sleep," Clint said, tilting his nose up.

"Yes he does," Bruce said casually, "But the mission he took two weeks ago ruined his and Natasha's sleep schedule. Matt…doesn't sleep, and Tony had too much coffee earlier."

"Don't act innocent, Bruce, you did too." Tony countered.

"I _don't_ need sleep." Clint huffed.

"Hush, Clint." Natasha said. He crossed his arms at her.

Matt rubbed at a bruise on his arm and quietly said, "I sleep."

"Only on occasion! It's like some sort of holiday," Tony frowned at him. "'Everyone gather around the fireplace and exchange gifts, Matt Murdock _slept_!' I'm the one that doesn't sleep in _this_ house, buddy." Matt titled his head innocently at the scientist.

"I sleep," he repeated lightly, "Just not at night."

"Hey, I thought you said you have patrol at night?" Barry asked suddenly. He knew something was off, but he hadn't been able to put his finger on it.

"I made a deal with the Punisher. If he doesn't kill anyone he can beat up the baddies tonight."

"You make some weird friends, Matt." Bruce said.

"Hello, Kettle," Matt said simply with a wry smile on his face.

"Anyway. Onto more pressing matters…Barry you can't get drunk, can you?" Tony asked, looking vaguely horrified and sympathetic. The younger man sighs and shakes his head.

"My drinking days are over. I'm at the ripe old age of 25, I should save my perfectly healthy liver while I can." He said, sounding slightly bitter.

"Well, fear no more. The reason I drank coffee earlier was because I was coming up with a mixture to get a guy like you shit faced because you definitely seem like you need to."

Natasha's grin was like a shark's, "Trying to get into his pants, Tony? He's barely legal."

"I don't screw kicked puppies, you should know that about me by now, Natasha." Tony's grin was just as sharp as he ignored the blushing and stuttering 'kicked puppy'. "I just wanted an excuse to get drunk past midnight."

oO-Oo

As it turned out, a drunken Barry meant a hungry Barry that started to stumble around making peanut butter and jam sandwiches and attempting to serve himself milk to wash it down. Natasha and Bruce were the designated 'make sure you don't go out into the night to fight someone' people for the group, although this time it was more like 'make sure Barry doesn't cut off his fingers as he makes many, many sandwiches'.

"Makin'," Barry hummed and slurred a song he'd made up five minutes ago, "PB and J saammiches." He licked the peach jam off of his fingers and glared at Natasha again. "With _stupid_ crust."

"He…can't hold his alcohol huh?" Matt commented, nursing his third cup of scotch.

Tony hummed and sipped his fifth, having built up a resistance, "I think it's just the fact that he drank enough to get alcohol poisoning to three beefy men. And, yes, I calculated."

"Why _beefy_ men? Why not regular men? Were they on your mind, Stark?" Clint asked airily.

"What is with assassins and making jokes about my sex life? I just thought it'd be easier to say than 4 and one half scrawny men! Gosh." He pouted petulantly and then laughed at Barry's superior pout. He was stuffing his face with another sandwich, this time chunky peanut butter and raspberry jam. There was all types of the sweet stuff on his cheeks, nose, and somehow on his forehead and tip of his ears. He looked like a toddler had raided a kitchen on a sugar high.

"Is- Is he pouting?" A genuine smile spread tentatively across Matt's face now.

"Nah," Barry said, "'m _so_ happy tha' I need tah eat my sammiches with _crust_." Now he angled his puppy glare at Bruce.

"Barry, if you used a knife to cut off the crusts you'd end up cutting off all of your fingers. You didn't let any of us do it, either," Bruce tried to reason with him and attempted to sound stern but was failing, smiling softly at the young hero.

"I can do it," Barry grumbled, but he couldn't help smile when the sweetness of the jam hit his tongue. It was dazzling and bright like the sun, even though he was drunk out of his mind. "Mmm…'m a good cook!"

"That's not cooking." Natasha said, but a slight smile was present on her face as well. Barry glared at her which prompted her to say, "Okay, you're a good cook. And a child." Her smile grew when Barry muttered '25'.

They spent the rest of the night listening to Barry ramble on about how he loved his friends and talk about 'Cissi', 'Cait', Joe, Iris, and 'Walls'. Matt had excused himself to go 'sleep' which prompted Clint to say that he was just going to lie in bed in the dark until morning. Tony and Clint became steadily drunker, but because they had built up a resistance to alcohol, they managed to keep themselves together. At least, more so than Barry did, who gushed over his family for quite a long time. It was obvious by the end of the night that he would do anything for them, and if possible he became even more charming.

"How long do you think he'll have a hangover?" Natasha asked innocently. Of course she wasn't as affected by the enigmatic young man; she was going to do find out everything she could about Barry. The fact that he wasn't from his universe made it harder, obviously, so she'd just have to do it first-hand.

"Probably an hour or two." Bruce responded, good-naturedly glaring at Barry. "Lucky."

"…Do you know how he got his powers, Bruce?" Her casual tone became less so now. "Or the full extent of his speed?"

"I do not," he said, "But I believe that he will tell us in his own time, Natasha." They stayed facing the trio of drunken heroes, their eyes never straying from their antics. Tony was poking Barry in the neck carefully, making the latter giggle loudly. Clint was taking a video of it and grinning evilly.

"I know he'll tell us," She responded matter-of-factly, "I needed to know if he'd tell us on his own or not, that's all. I trust your judgment." Natasha sounded like she'd made a decision based on Bruce's answer.

Barry noticed the two of them staring at him intently and grinned widely at them, hiccupping.

oO-Oo

 **A/N:** It's a bit dialogue heavy but I'm happy with it. It came out very fluffy… Stay tuned for more.


	7. Author's Note

**A/N:** Hey guys, sorry that this isn't a chapter. I'm dealing with some stuff right now, struggling with some things. But, I think I'll be able to write the chapter by next week. Again, sorry for not updating.

Reviews help me out a lot, they get me motivated, so if you could take some time to write one I would greatly appreciate constructive criticism, encouragement, or even suggestions for a scenario or whatever ("Please update" isn't all that helpful…). Meanwhile you can read my other stories if you want, I have some more for the Flash to hold you over while I get chapter 7 done.

Sorry, again, if you were holding out for chapter.

Callie


	8. Chapter 7

**The Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel**

oO-Oo

"You know, I can probably just be drunk 24/7 and I'll be fine. I can't die of alcohol poisoning, right?" Barry said lowly, his head resting on his arms. He was wearing jogger sweatpants and a big, soft hoodie with the hood up and the strings pulled taut to only his nose peaked out of the cloth. Under the hood, his face was paler than usual and his eyes blood shot. "Even if I do, it's better than a hangover."

"Oh, shut up you big baby. You'll only have it for another hour anyway." Clint grumbled. Despite being inside a building, he was wearing thick sunglasses. He was in a similar state as Barry, as were Tony and Matt. Matt could hide his discomfort better than them, though, and this was pretty much Tony's morning routine by now.

The aforementioned heroes were all sitting around the island in the kitchen and had originally been crowding around Clint's phone to watch videos of Barry in his drunken glory, but the light from the device became too harsh for them and they were now munching on Pop Tarts.

Speaking of which, "Why do you have so many of these?" Barry asked, waving around his cinnamon pastry.

"I honestly think it would be easier to show you, rather than try to explain," Matt said cryptically. "Unfortunately, Thor isn't here." He smirked when Barry stopped chewing his Pop Tart.

"I'm too hung over for this," he muttered, then stuffed the rest of the pastry in his mouth and moved on to his 27th. It was at this moment that Natasha strode into the common area and slipped into the stool next to Barry's and silently grabbed a Pop Tart out of the large box in the middle of the counter. "Mornin'." The speedster rumbled and sat up now, the headache lessening from piercing to a persistent throb against his skull. He took a moment to appreciate the overcast sky; dark grey clouds were rolling in and replacing the lighter ones quickly. He then ignored the cold feeling in his stomach and turned his attention back to the others.

"I reported to Fury after the attack by Electro. He's locked up and won't be getting out any time soon," Natasha said.

"We should tell Peter," Tony decided and brushed the crumbs off of his hands.

"Tell me what?" Peter mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he made a beeline to the coffee pot sitting on the counter. He was in his pajamas and still had bed hair, but the odd assortment of scars that littered his arms upset the image of young innocence. Barry wondered idly how his arms would look if it weren't for his quick healing. He had some faint scars from the bullying from his earlier years. His fingers unconsciously drifted across the part of his hoodie he knew covered a patch of skin that was a significantly lighter tone. Flashes of Leonard Snart's smug face made his brow drop in anger, but he pushed away the thought and focused on Peter again.

Barry watched with drooping eyes as the younger man poured himself some coffee.

"Electro has been taken care of," Natasha said, "Fury's got him."

As Peter prepared his coffee, Barry closed his eyes and listened, resting his face on his arms again. He kept one ear in the open and one foot on the ground, though. There could be an emergency at any moment. _These people could actually be working for a big baddie; I sure do have experience with that,_ a voice in the back of his mind whispered _._ His brain helpfully provided images of his mentors; horribly bitter anger curled in his stomach.

"I _almost_ feel bad. Sort of. This," Peter must have pointed to a new cut, "is going to scar, so I actually feel pretty good about it." He spoke lightly and casually but there was an undertone of spite. "Couldn't he have at least grabbed my left hand? I need to do my homework." Barry heard Tony and Clint snicker and then the muffled sound of Tony smacking the two on the arm.

The resulting sound was comically loud, but was drowned out by the rumbling thunder that followed a vein of lightning. Suddenly Barry was gone and his stool was spinning around wildly, a gush of wind following in his wake. Napkins and Pop Tart wrappers flew off of the counter and billowed around the stunned heroes.

"Was it something I said?" Peter asked, giving a nervous chuckle.

oO-Oo

Barry paced around his room, glancing at the wall made of glass. The sight of the lighting outside reminded him of the night his mother was killed. But at the same time, it made him think of his own lightning and of the Speed Force. Fear and comfort flooded his chest like oil and water. Nausea made his jaw twinge and hands shake. He remembered the pure terror when he saw the streaks of lightning race around his living room. He saw his mother's blank eyes and bloodless face under the plastic sheet. Barry could feel his father's sticky blood on his hands again, but the bile rising in his throat was real.

Barry sat down heavily in the bathroom, leaning against his sink. He was determined not to throw up again but being near the toilet made him feel slightly better. His thoughts swirled around his mind, regret, homesickness, and doubt crashed together to create a knot of stress and anxiety in his chest and worsen his pounding headache. He felt hollow and shaky, anxiety buzzing under his skin. He didn't feel like Central City's hero. Like he didn't _deserve_ to be the Flash.

He made decisions when angry. He let so many people die. It was because of Barry that a _freak black hole_ opened up and damn near swallowed up his city and its people. He couldn't even make smart decisions for himself, for his family.

Barry, in all honesty, had made a rash decision back on his porch. He had been fueled by denial; he had been drowning in despair when it had sunk in that he is an orphan. Now he was going through the Kubler-Ross rollercoaster that is grief. He could feel a profound rage directed at Eobard Thawne, Hunter Zolomon, and himself. His former mentors had built up a trust and had taken advantage of it, and with their combined efforts had killed the two people that had brought him into the world. And worse, Barry had _fallen_ for it. It was enough to make any normal person lose a few of their marbles, but to add to the problem, Barry never had enough time to sort through his emotions in a healthy manner.

For example, the death of his father. That was the most recent blow to his mental stability, especially because he thought he could do something about it. In fact, he believed that he could've done something to save _everyone_ that died around him. He could've saved Bette Sans Souci, Eddie, Ronnie, the countless lives lost during the singularity. They could have been saved if he had just been faster, _better_. Henry Allen had been mere feet away from him when the hand had vibrated through his heart. If Barry had just looked around a little more and used his common sense, he could have stopped the bullet from killing Bette. Iris could have had a happy life with Eddie if Barry wasn't so _weak_ and _selfish_. His actions caused the singularity that killed Ronnie, hurt Dr. Stein, and hundreds of other innocent Central City citizens. Even worse, it had taken Barry _14 years_ to get over the death of his mother and he didn't even have super-speed for most of that time.

So it was safe to say that now that he has the weight of responsibility on his shoulders and even more deep-seated psychological issues, dealing with grief would be even more complicated.

Barry's train of thought stopped in its track. In this universe, there was an overabundance of heroes that protect the world. There may be even _more_ well-meaning and powerful people out there. He didn't need to use his powers to fight evil - it wasn't necessary. For the first time in a long time, Barry felt like his shoulders were free of a painful weight. He'd been carrying it around ever since Clyde Mardon had decided to play God in his city. His nausea ebbed and the knot in his chest unraveled slightly.

Lying down on the bed, Barry ran his fingers through his hair. The Avengers were strong enough to not need his help on a daily basis, or maybe at all, so Barry could be a normal 26-year-old and go about his life like he would before the particle accelerator. Relief flooded him, refreshing and hopeful. He knew it would take a while to heal and maybe he would never be completely okay, but he would be better.

It would just take some time.

oO-Oo

Caitlin and Cisco had pretty much moved into Star Labs by now, trying to contact Barry. The first time had been a disaster. Cisco had felt Barry's pain like a separate entity but he had access to it. When he reached out with his mind, Cisco could feel the homesickness flow from the speedster's mind like a crack in a dam.

The two scientists had been working together non-stop to adjust the Vibe goggles somehow to try again for two days. They were tired and hungry and _missed Barry_ , which was why what happened next was both a blessing and a curse.

The monitors in the middle of the Cortex alerted the pair that the elevator was activated. Caitlin wordlessly walked over, pressing her fingers to her temple.

"Oh my god," she said. "Cisco! Come look at this..."

"What? Why? I'm almost there." Cisco waved his hand at her, which she took advantage of, tugging on his arm until he tumbled out of his chair and toward the computers. "What the hell?" Felicity, Oliver, Diggle, and Laurel were bunched into the elevator along with multiple suit cases.

Oliver looked up at the camera and winked.

oO-Oo

 **A/N:** I strongly believe that Barry has some things to sort through. He's just so angry. I also believe that lightning has a very odd affect on him. Seeing as this horribly traumatic thing happened to him when he was young – so I would think that it would be even worse than if it happened when he's older since he was just a child – that was centered around lightning in his own house; at the same time, he was given these amazing powers by it and constantly uses it to beat his enemies and, regardless of what he thinks, protect his loved ones.

I believe that the timeline for my story and the timeline for Arrow and the Flash TV shows aren't exactly aligned seeing as I haven't watched season four of the Arrow so until now I was unaware of his status. I've been doing some real research on where he was and the timeline and wow it was sort of complicated. Unfortunately there's no way to go back, so we'll be glossing over Roy's existence. Sorry, this disrupts the story flow and isn't very professional, but it has already happened and the only way to carry on is to push through it and work harder so that it doesn't happen again.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N:** I'm going through a bout of writer's block guys, that's why I haven't uploading anything. I have the ideas but every time I sit down to write, I just…sit. And stare at the screen. Really sorry about the length of this one and the fact that it's super late. I wanted to post to show that I'm not giving up on this story.

oO-Oo

"Call the police! Call…um, call national security, I don't know. Just _stop_ the elevator!" Cisco yelled, pacing away from the computer. He ran a hand through his hair and turned back to Caitlin.

"Cisco, calm down, okay? We'll just ask about the suitcases and see if they-" Caitlin was interrupted by the sound of voices in the hallway.

"This place is like a prison. All grey walls. They need some plants!" Felicity walked into the Cortex first with Oliver and Laurel trailing behind her.

"Barry would knock them over, Felicity." Oliver said.

"Not if we bolt them to the ground," she reasoned, "Hey Cisco, Caitlin." Felicity gave the two of them a small smile.

They stared at Felicity, Oliver, and Laurel incredulously.

"It's nice to see you guys again," Laurel gave Caitlin and Cisco a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Oh, yeah, it's lovely to see you guys. _What are you doing here?"_ Cisco's voice squeaked as his volume rose hysterically. He gave the trio an exaggerated look of interest; his eyebrows neared his hairline.

"They're moving in," this time Oliver answered, "To help you find Barry." He smiled widely as he patted a suitcase for emphasis. "Where can they unpack?"

Caitlin sighed, "Guys, no. You don't need to do this. Even if there was space in STAR Labs, you have Starling City to look after." She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. The stress of trying to find Barry and trying to take care of the thieves left in the wake of the Flash's absence at the same time was enough for the both of them. However, Caitlin was mourning the loss and betrayal of yet another man she'd fallen for. Headaches were common these days.

"We _want_ to do this, Caitlin. Barry is our friend." Felicity's smile dropped and her expression was dead serious. "I'll stay in communication with Oliver. He's got Dig to help him."

"You two need a help, and a _break_. We know you've been working for days now. You need to rest up so that you can work more efficiently." Laurel said

"Laurel-"

"There's no way this can hurt you or your efforts to find Barry." Laurel was obviously in her 'lawyer-zone', arguing logical points that even geniuses like Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon couldn't beat.

The two looked at each other for a moment, a silent conversation spanning in the time it took for them to make eye contact.

"Fine," Cisco relented. He looked annoyed but in reality he was incredibly relived. He was exhausted and his eyes burned after staring a screen for so long. He knew that Caitlin's hands were beginning to be less steady and bags were started to form under her eyes.

"Oh, good!" Felicity clapped her hands and the tension bled away slightly. "But seriously, where can we unpack?"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hey kiddies! I'm not dead and I'm not abandoning this story. I've been struggling with this story though and I'm sorry I haven't updated with a worthy chapter in a while, but I think that I did a better job with this one. Sorry it's so late. Anyway, it's full of fluff and bonding with Petey because things are about to get a little crazy.

 **The Problem with Multi-Dimensional Travel**

Things were going annoyingly well now that Felicity and Laurel were helping out. Cisco and Caitlin would _not_ admit to that, though. It didn't matter, though. With the combined help of the two women they'd gotten farther in their inter-dimensional research, and tomorrow Cisco was going to try contact with Barry again. It was about time they try to bring back their speedster.

oO-Oo

The day began as any other day would when one keeps forgetting that they are in a different dimension. Barry always has to take a minute to remember where he is and who is knocking on his door yelling 'pancakes'. It always took a couple seconds to accept that he was in a different dimension. As the days went by he adjusted to his temporary home, and spent less time almost vibrating through his bed.

Speeding his way through his morning routine was wonderful after being given "doctors orders" to avoid using the 'Force. He hummed happily as he showered in three seconds – he took his time today – and got dressed in 0.5. Barry was sitting on the couch by the time Peter was finished knocking on his door. He couldn't help but smirk when the younger man yelped.

"You need to _not_ ," Peter said, pressing a hand to his chest.

Barry ignored him, "Who's making pancakes?"

"Well, Sam, Natasha, and Clint have to go on some sort of mission. Matt is at work and he'll be too busy for about a week to swing by. Vision is off doing things with SHIELD, I think. Tests and all that hoopla. Scott can only make cereal and instant ramen for himself – I think he got hammered last night, too – and Thor is with his girlfriend. Tony and Bruce were up all night working on a new treadmill so they'll probably just get coffee. Rhodey has normal-people stuff to do, like grocery shopping or something. So, I made some pancakes." Peter looked sheepish. "I'm not that good a cook, though."

Barry decided that he was going to be the judge of that and sped over to the kitchen island. There were two big plates with a stack of pancakes on each one. They were golden and fluffy, almost the size of the dinner plate itself. He took his time serving himself, smiling a little at how nervous Peter looked. The first bite of them was heavenly, and he told this to Peter.

"My aunt taught me how," he said proudly, but he didn't smile. "Before she…"

Barry swallowed. Loss was an old friend of his. "Were you close?"

Peter nodded, which Barry took as a sign that he wasn't offended. "My aunt and uncle took me in after my parents died. My uncle Ben died when I first got my powers. Aunt May…she went peacefully. My girlfriend Gwen..." The words seemed to rush out of him, as if the teen had been holding it in for a while. Judging by the younger man's tone, the pain from his uncle's death was dulling. However, bitterness was left over from his aunt's death and fresh grief from his girlfriend's death. They were things that both Barry and Peter were tired of.

"Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. My mother died when I was young, and my father…He was killed." Barry couldn't keep his emotions in check when he thought about his father yet, so his fury and grief bled into his words. Peter tentatively reached to brush their fingers together, a gesture that Barry appreciated. They shared tentative smiles, Barry being the first to look away. Talking about his father still hurt. "I need…I need to run." He said. Desperation showed in the lines in his face, in the gleam of his eye, in his words.

"Come with me," Peter took Barry's wrist in his hand and led the older man to the training room. Tony had been working on making a track room in the building the moment Barry almost shorted out the treadmill.

Peter opened the door, revealing the large friction-proof track. On one side of the large room was a little niche in the wall where a phone could be plugged in to play music. There was a Stark brand surround sound system installed in the room, because Tony could only have the best of the best in his tower. Barry flashed over to it, relieved that he had the sense to grab his phone the night he…

He shook his head and quickly pressed shuffle.

 _I backed my car into a cop car the other day_

 _Well, he just drove off – sometimes life's okay_

 _I ran my mouth off a bit too much, ah what did I say?_

 _Well, you just laughed it off and it was all okay_

Barry took off, zipping around the track. Along with a track, Tony had made the speedster friction-proof shoes, too. He silently thanked the genius because the last thing he needed right now was to light on fire. It was enough that he couldn't get his emotions under control.

Barry's stomach felt empty, and his heart ached. The memory of his father's death dug up his frustration and guilt yet again, making him notice the absence of his team more than usual. He missed their endless patience and sympathy. How could he fail them so completely?

 _Focus on the lyrics,_ Barry urged himself. He tried to stop thinking, listening intently to the singer. To really appreciate the lyrics, Barry slowed down until his shape was visible to the naked eye.

 _Good news will work its way to all them plans_

 _We both got fired on exactly the same day_

 _Well, we'll float on good news is on its way_

 _And we'll all float on okay_

 _And we'll all float on okay_

 _And we'll all float on okay_

 _And we'll float on alright_

Barry sang along in his mind as well as he could when the gnawing feeling in his stomach was demanding his attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Peter sitting by the door. The arachnid's eyes were closed and he seemed to be swaying to the music.

Barry breathed deeply as he dug his feet harder into the ground and pushed himself faster. He wanted to feel closer to the lightning under him, he wanted the heat of it to envelope him like a loved one's embrace. The song was distorted until he couldn't hear anything but the crackle of his own essence around him. Warmth coursed through his veins like a soothing balm for his nerves.

When he ran this fast for no reason, no reason but for the hell of it, he felt as though Eobard Thawne had never come into his life. Barry's shoulders relaxed and the only thing to do was keep running. Where he was right now, all he could do was run between the line of Barry Allen and the Flash. He could only think of running fast enough to stay in the peaceful limbo where nothing else mattered, where everything around him stopped. His heart pounded in his ears and his breath whooshed in and out rhythmically. Here, he couldn't be touched. Barry was right where he wanted to be of his own power and will. He felt safe and at home, as if he couldn't be hurt by anything or anyone. The invincibility that had been shattered by his father's death was present here. The difference was that the confidence that came from his Speed encounter came from a dangerous and fabricated infallibility. Barry knew that this the safest place he could be.

The downside was that he just couldn't go fast enough forever. It was taxing after a certain point even on his speedster body, so the moment of euphoria was dulled when he had to slow down. Breathing heavily, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and absently realized that the song was ending.

 _Now don't you worry, we'll all float on_

 _We'll all float on_

Peter approached him as the notes faded out. "Feel better?" He asked, looking at him with light concern.

"Yeah," Barry said honestly, "I do."

Peter gave him a bright smile, "Good! While you were running, I got an idea. I thought we could play a game of Monopoly. After you shower, of course. You smell like a high school gym."

oO-Oo

No amount of timeline-hopping could prepare Barry for the beat down of the century. Peter was the reigning champion of Monopoly.

"All will bow to the mighty Peter! King of Monopoly!" The arachnid was standing, victorious, on the couch. Barry had been so badly beaten that he couldn't help but slide off of the cushions.

"How am I _so bad_ at this game?" He groaned.

"It's not just that." Peter amended, "It's not just that you suck, I'm _really_ good at rolling dice." He gave Barry a friendly pat on the head as he jumped down from the couch. "How about I give you a chance to redeem yourself? Let's tell each other superhero stories!"

"Thank God," Barry said, "I definitely have more experience than you in the field, little man."

"I am almost 19!" Peter squawked.

"So small."

oO-Oo

Peter had made the pancakes at 1 o'clock in the afternoon (breakfast is an all-day meal in the Avengers household) and the Monopoly fiasco had taken almost 2 hours. Despite the clock reading 3:34 pm, the two heroes agreed that the only proper way to tell stories is in a pillow fort. They were bundled together under one large Spider-Man themed comforter (a gift from Tony) on the largest bean bag in the commons.

"One time," Barry said around a marshmallow, "I almost got killed by a bunch of bees." Peter's eyes bugged out but his mouth was too full of the fluffy snack to ask. "Yeah, my team and I were chasing this bee lady, she filled these little bee robots with poison."

"I'll admit, that's better than getting attacked by my stalker."

"Uh—"

"Yeah, I saved him from a car and tried to cheer him up. Apparently he wasn't very popular at work and he fixated on me. Some really unfortunate coincidences led to him almost electrocuting me." After a moment of thinking back on the man, Peter opened his jaws and signaled that Barry should throw a marshmallow in his marshmallow-devouring maw. The speedster complied in fear of having the hungry teen bite off his fingers. However, before he ever threw the fluffy treat a huge yawn made Barry's eyes water. Peter followed along with a jaw-cracking yawn of his own.

"What time is it," Barry asked, having lost track of time after their late breakfast.

"Time for a nap," Peter said matter-of-factly, "I woke up early to train. _Six in the morning_. I think Natasha is rubbing off on me…" He trailed off, snuggling into the bean bag and therefore closer to Barry. The speedster gave off heat all the time, making the beanbag bed hot as an oven. It was comfortable, though, because the air conditioner was on – in an attempt to keep the New York summer heat out, the tower had become chilly inside.

"Okay," Barry relented, "Nap time." With one last yawn he sank into the squishy softness and instinctively curled around Peter. The kid was lanky, but Barry was still taller. He felt a sense of protectiveness for the kid, too.

The beanbag cocoon was comfortable. It made the stress melt off of the two grieving heroes and put them to sleep in minutes. The tower was quiet.

oO-Oo

In the shadows, a figure lurked. It peered up at the huge, obnoxious 'A' that sat on the tower. It had been alerted to the raw amount of power that resided in the Avenger's home. There had never been an energy signature like that before, not even when the witch had decided to join those buffoons. The figure retreated back into the darkness slowly. He swore to find the energy source, and take it for himself.

No matter what.

oO-Oo

 **A/N:** If you want to yell at me twice, my tumblr is in my profile. Or, if you want to submit prompts.


	11. Author's Note pt2 - Important!

Hello dearest readers, I apologize in advance that this isn't an update. However, it's just as important!

I will be moving this story over to Archive of Our Own under the author name cancerthecrabbo. It won't be immediate because the story is under some moderate construction to help improve the quality as well as the legitimacy of the interactions between the universes. I hope you can understand, and I thank you a thousand times over for your patience!


	12. Author's Note pt3 - SUPER IMPORTANT!

Just a quick announcement - ALL CHAPTERS ARE UP ON AO3 ALONG WITH A BRAND NEW CHAPTER! If you have any questions just go to my tumblr (it's in my profile!) and I'll answer ASAP.


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